My best colleague is my wife, Ichiro, starting with a historic HOF speech wit and ending with thanks and advice
Jul 28, 2025
|
HOF held a 'HOF induction ceremony in 2025' at the Clark Sports Center of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, USA on the 28th (Korea time).
The induction ceremony was attended by Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, who were selected by the BBWAA (National Baseball Journalists Association) vote earlier this year, and the bereaved families of Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were selected by the Classic Baseball Era committee in December last year.
The induction ceremony was almost held indoors due to rain from the morning, but as the rain stopped an hour later at the scheduled time, hundreds of reporters and fans were able to share an honorable moment. The player who received the most spotlight and attention was by far Ichiro. He was the first Asian to reach the highest and most glorious stage in the major leagues.
Standing on the podium, Ichiro first said "The dinner I had offered to the journalist who did not vote for me has now been suspended from its effectiveness."
Ichiro received 391 approval from 392 reporters from the BBWAA (National Baseball Journalists Association) as a result of the 2025 HOF induction vote announced by MLB on January 22. Initially, Ichiro was expected to enter the HOF with 100% of the vote, the second in history after Mariano Rivera in 2019, but one of the BBWAA journalists had a different idea.
In an interview two days later, Ichiro made a witty suggestion, "I want to invite a reporter who didn't vote for me to my house and have a drink and talk with him." However, the reporter did not appear at the end.
|
Most of Ichiro's speech was about his dreams, goals, and efforts to young juniors.
He brought up his speech in English, saying, `If you keep things steady, there is nothing you can't achieve. Look at me. He is 5ft 11in (1m80) tall and weighs 170lbs (77kg). When I first came to America, many people said I was too small to fight big leaguers. But I knew that if I did my best in my belief in preparation, I could overcome those doubts."
He then said "There were a lot of doubts when I wanted to become the first fielder to go from Japan to Major League Baseball, as you guessed. No, beyond doubt, countless criticisms and negativity have been raised. Someone even said 'Don't panic the country (Japan).' But it was my wife Yumiko who supported me the most, he said. "My wife also had such doubts, but she didn't make it obvious that I was aware of them. She used all her energy to cheer me up and give me courage. For 19 years in Seattle, New York, and Maiaki, she was convinced that our family was always happy and harmonious. I just tried to be steady as a player. She was the best and most unwavering colleague of my life," he said, thanking his wife.
|
|
In particular, he built an unprecedented gold tower of .300, 200 hits, Gold Glove, and All-Star selection for 10 consecutive years from 2001 to 2010, and he won the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP at the same time in his debut season. In 2004, he had 262 hits, breaking George Sizzler's record of 257 hits in 1920 for the first time in 84 years.
It is rated as the most perfect heater and leadoff in history. He did not make much controversy on and off the ground, and even after taking off his uniform, he went back and forth between the United States and Japan and showed his presence in the baseball world.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
